Chapter 25: Dog-Eat-Dog

Zhao Hang was the first student to enroll when Master Zhou opened his school two years ago.

Back then, Master Zhou was not as strict as he is now. Zhao Hang, being naturally curious and having come to the city to study for the first time, had spent no small amount of time wandering about town.

Although he did not give a direct answer, Wang Xuezhou could tell from his expression that he knew exactly where to go. Through a mix of soft persuasion and firm insistence, Wang Xuezhou finally pressured Zhao Hang into revealing the location.

Seeing that he could not prevail against Wang, Zhao Hang sighed with the weary affectation of an adult: "You... sigh! Fine. Since we came out together, we should return together. We will let it slide for today, but next time you pull a stunt like this, I am not coming out with you."

Wang Xuezhou grabbed him excitedly and urged him forward: "Good brother, we share our joys and burdens. Let’s go!" Qi Xian followed closely behind them.

There is a hierarchy even in scavenging. Wang Xuezhou had long since inquired about the situation in the city; most of the wealthy lived in the west, which was why the little chubby boy’s home was located there. Although Zhao Hang did not understand why Wang wanted to go to the furthest ash pit, he led him there as requested.

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, they ran from the residential area in the west to a remote, deserted spot. The ground was sparsely covered with grass, flanked by towering trees. Beyond the chirping of birds and insects, the area was desolate, devoid of a single soul.

On a patch of flat, barren ground, two dark, gaping holes lay exposed—these were the ash pits.

"There, those two holes are it. It’s filthy inside. Once they fill up, the yamen officials come by to fill them with dirt," Zhao Hang said, standing his ground and refusing to step any closer, his expression one of disgust.

Qi Xian was curious, having never seen such a thing before, and Wang Xuezhou was not bothered by the filth at all. Just as he was about to move forward, Qi Xian grabbed him. Having heard movement behind them, Qi Xian said nervously, "Someone is coming!"

Zhao Hang’s expression changed instantly. Without a second thought, he dragged both of them behind the nearest tree.

Not far away, an old man came along slowly, driving a donkey. Wang Xuezhou squinted and recognized him as the same old man he had seen at the Jinxiu Fabric Store. A long, narrow trailer made of wooden planks was hitched to the donkey.

The donkey cart stopped a meter away from the edge of the pit. The old man whistled, and before the three boys could understand what was happening, the surroundings came to life.

Over a dozen raggedly dressed people emerged from behind the very trees the boys were hiding behind, scrambling toward the cart in a frantic rush. The three boys were stunned—the trees around them had been filled with people hiding all along!

The old man cracked a whip in the air; the sharp *snap* silenced those at the front. "Standard rules: pay before you board."

The old man, no longer displaying the humility Wang Xuezhou had seen earlier, pointed at a wooden bucket beside his feet with a look of arrogant disdain. The person at the front gulped, fished a copper coin from his tattered rags, and tossed it in. The dull thud of metal hitting wood echoed. The old man lowered his hand, and the person scrambled into the cart to start rummaging.

Once the first person started, the others eagerly threw their coins in and piled onto the cart. Wang Xuezhou watched clearly as someone found a torn garment and excitedly tried to pull it on, only for someone else to rip it away. The two began to brawl, and the cart swayed violently.

*Snap!*

"What are you doing? Behave yourselves! I am only being kind enough to bring you these things. If you don’t want them, get down! You bunch of beggars—nobody would even care if you were beaten to death!" The old man spat and cursed at them.

The people in the cart quickly quieted down. After a dozen people had turned everything inside upside down and found nothing left to take, they dispersed one by one. The old man then removed the board at the back of the cart, dumped the remaining contents into one of the pits, and drove away.

The three boys stood in silence for a long time, deeply shaken. Wang Xuezhou marveled at the harshness of life in this ancient era—even trash was something people paid to scavenge. The old man was quite clever; he collected money from shops to dump the trash, and then collected money from people to scavenge it. It was a business with zero overhead, steady, and everlasting.

Wang Xuezhou picked up a stick and walked toward the pit. Zhao Hang, snapping out of his daze, immediately stopped him: "These things have already been picked over twice. You won’t find anything. Let’s go back!" Having seen those people earlier, he finally understood why his classmate had insisted on coming.

Wang Xuezhou turned to look at them: "What if there is something they missed? We have to try. What if we find something that can be traded for money?"

Zhao Hang froze. Qi Xian’s eyes lit up, and he looked up sharply. Without much hesitation, he made up his mind, found a branch, and followed Wang Xuezhou toward the pit. If he could earn enough money to help his father avoid the corvée labor, he would do anything, even shovel manure.

The ash pit was much shallower than Wang Xuezhou had expected. Since people in the Great Qian Dynasty specifically collected slop and manure to sell, those things were not here, so the smell was not unbearable. It contained mostly useless scraps: fragmented porcelain, the rags discarded by the scavengers, shoes with massive holes...

The less he found, the more meticulous Wang Xuezhou became.

As he poked the ground repeatedly with his stick, he noticed a strange sound. He prodded the dirt and unearthed something covered in mud—a hairpin. He couldn't tell what it was made of. Wang Xuezhou picked it up and wiped it clean. It was a silver hairpin! Unfortunately, the craftsmanship was poor and it was quite light, so it likely wasn't worth much. Still, it was enough to bring a smile to his face.

Just then, Qi Xian let out a cry of surprise.

Wang Xuezhou quickly stepped back, climbed up the edge, and asked, "What is it?"

Zhao Hang was standing on the ground, also holding a stick and looking conflicted. Upon hearing Qi Xian, he rushed over and pulled him up.

"Choudan! Brother Hang! I... I think I found half a jade plate!" Qi Xian’s voice trembled with excitement as he held the small fragment of jade, which was roughly the size of an infant's palm.

Wang Xuezhou leaned in to look. It was indeed a fragment of a jade plate, irregular in shape. "This could probably be sold to a pawnshop to be polished into something else. Not a bad haul for today, let’s..."

Wang Xuezhou’s words were cut short.

He was caught completely off guard as someone tackled him from behind, violently snatching the silver hairpin from his hand. Beside him, Qi Xian was shoved face-first into the dirt after someone grabbed his wrist and stole his item. Zhao Hang, stunned by the sudden turn of events, could only watch as two dark shadows fled into the distance.

"Thieves! Where do you think you’re going!"

Wang Xuezhou finally realized they had been robbed by predators. Zhao Hang and Qi Xian snapped out of their shock and shouted at the retreating shadows: "Stop!"